‘Luka is a bad, bad man.’ Reaction to Dallas Mavs first series win since 2011, Suns next

The Dallas Mavericks advanced in the NBA playoffs for the first time since 2011 and it has caused a stir on social media.

The Mavs eliminated the Utah Jazz with a 98-96 Game 6 win late Thursday in Salt Lake City.

The No. 4 Mavs face the top-seeded Phoenix Suns in a best-of-7 second round series beginning at 9 p.m. Monday in Arizona. The game will air on TNT. The complete series schedule is below.

Luka Dončić finished tied with Jalen Brunson with a game-high 24 points. Doncic also had nine rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocked shots.

Kenny Smith on TNT’s postgame show seemed to be leaning towards predicting the Mavs beating the Suns in the second round.

“Luka is a bad, bad man,” Smith said, as co-host Charles Barkley echoed the sentiment.

Dončić surpassed 500 points in his first 16 playoff games. The only player to do it faster is Michael Jordan who did it in 14 games. Jordan brand paid respect to Doncic on social media.

Lakers legend Magic Johnson congratulated the Mavs on advancing.

“Congratulations to Mavericks Head Coach Jason Kidd, GM Nico Harrison and Luka Dončić, for his first Playoff series win, and for advancing in the NBA Playoffs!” Johnson posted on Twitter.

Dončić missed the first three games of the series while dealing with a calf strain. The Mavs led the series 2-1 without him before the Jazz tied it with a Game 4 win. The Mavs closed it out with Doncic leading the way in Game Nos. 5 and 6.

The Suns swept all three games against the Mavs this season, including two in Phoenix. In fact, the Suns are 9-1 against the Mavs over he past three seasons. The last time the Mavs beat the Suns was on Nov. 29, 2019, in Arizona. Dončić’s had 42 points in the 120-113 win. In Dončić’s rookie 2018-19 season, the Mavs were 2-2 against the Suns.

Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns, second round playoff series schedule:

*if necessary

This story was originally published April 29, 2022 at 5:00 AM.

Stefan Stevenson

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Stefan Stevenson was a sports writer for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram from 1997 to 2022. He covered TCU athletics, the Texas Rangers and the Dallas Cowboys.